before ever playing any football in the Big East.

Boise State and BYU were never in the MWC at the same time.

By the way, had the MWC invited Boise State, Fresno State, and Houston - like it should have - in 2007 or so, the MWC would have had BYU, Utah, TCU, Boise St., and 2 teams in California and 2 teams in Texas and a conference championship game (when 12 teams were required). THEN, when the Big East exploded, the MOUNTAIN WEST would have been in the driver's seat. Even if the Big 12 still grabbed TCU, the MWC could have simply back-filled with SMU and probably would have been in a position to attract Navy and perhaps Memphis or Tulane...whether or not BYU was still in the conference.

The MWC fanboys make a lot of revisionist history. They like to blame BYU for everything...completely ignoring Commissioner Thompson's lack of foresight and leadership and forgetting the facts that Utah, TCU, Boise State, and San Diego State all left the conference too. And, they conveniently forget that the conference has given Boise State an extreme sweetheart deal concerning media rights in order to keep them in the conference.